Power Armor Mechanisms
, the most advanced armor to date produced by Eurasia. The photograph was taken at an unknown date in an unknown location in Tolbiacum. ]] Power Armor is a series of mechanized armor platforms designed by the Military of Eurasia for use in modern combat. It was initially developed experimentally during the 1950's, but did not see widespread research or production until the mid 1990's. Today, power armor is utilized by elements of the Eurasian Legions, the Eurasian Fleets, and the Eurasian Special Forces. Some divisions of the Ministry of the Police utilize older models donated by the Military. Power armor platforms effectively turn a single soldier into a mobile tank, as the armor can withstand a tremendous amount of damage, including being able to survive direct anti-tank rockets and small explosives. Power armor is also resistant to high amounts of heat and pressure changes, and provides the wearer with increased physical strength and ability. Some iterations of power armor also provide basic first aid, such as injection of painkillers and other medications and self-tournequeting. Though power armor was initially powered by batteries, or in the very early cases direct connection to a generator, today it is powered by small fusion cells. These effectively-miniaturized nuclear reactors allow the armor to function for great lengths of time without requiring a new power source. Some variants utilized by the military can operate on a single fusion cell for upwards of 80 days. Backgroud Power armor is the pinnacle of personal armor systems ever developed. It is custom fitted to a wearers body and requires a form-fitting body suit to be worn to interface with the armor's mechanisms. The armor itself is extremely heavy, and as such requires micro-servos to be put in place of the joints to allow the wearer ease of movement. The first suit of power armor was developed in the 1950's by Misriah Armories, and was powered by a direct connection to a non-mobile generator. It was initially envisioned as a means of defending critical areas, such as ammunition caches and other access-restricted locations. The suit itself was cumbersome and difficult to move in, and only had rudimentary joint servos which restricted access and maneuverability. By the 1970's, significant development had taken place, allowing for the manufacture of power armor systems that ran on their own power and with dedicated micro-servos. However, the suits were still cumbersome, with the smallest iterations weighing in excess of 1,000 lbs.. The power system too was unreliable, and could only function for a few hours of heavy use before requiring a recharge. The armor was used limitedly during the Ienaran War, but it often caused more problems for Eurasian legionaries than it solved, as mechanized infantry units would often fall through the floors of weakened buildings or have their batteries die during combat. The first truly successful power armor development came in 1999, when Misriah, in partnership with Traxus Heavy Industries, developed the T-45 series of power armor. In the mid '90s, with the development of compact micro-fusion cells, as well as the development of nanotechnology and material micro-hardening, power armor was able to be developed which was compact, self-sufficient and independent of recharging. This sparked the power armor engineering revolution, with many series being developed. Power armor is used extensively by the Eurasian Legions, and has seen widespread usage by the Mechanized Cavalry cohorts in recent years, most famously during the Invasion of New Zealand, to devastating effect. Pre-1970s Power Armor The first power armor developed by Misriah was codenamed "Archimedes", after a famed Solvinian mathematician. It was bulky and largely unusable, but represented a significant step in power armor development. It could withstand grenade blasts and small arms fire, but was vulnerable to rocket-propelled grenades and other anti-tank and anti-materiel weapons. It was also vulnerable to anti-tank mines. It had the added drawback of being unable to move far from its immobile generator, and the fact that the generator ran off of diesel power. The only recorded instance of it being used in combat was during a Christian uprising in Julium, when the Praetorian Guard requested reinforcements from the Legions and the Ministry of War saw it as an opportunity to test the suit. It performed well until an accidental grenade detonation caused destruction of its generator, after which it ceased to function. T-45 Series In the 1970s, the first functional suit of power armor was developed, the infamous T-45 Series Power Armor, which was the first power armor deployed by Eurasia on a military scale. It featured an early variant of the familiar, gas-mask resembling helmet, and was also resistant to mines, anti-tank weaponry, small arms, and artillery. It did, however, suffer from a lack of stable power, being forced to run on cumbersome batteries which drained within hours of use and needed to be constantly recharged by a team of engineers, severely limiting its effectiveness. However, it was a major improvement upon the Archimedes suit, as it did not need to, necessarily, be attached to a central generator, allowed a much greater range of movement. The suit was deployed during the Ienaran War, and was devastatingly effective against Tarajani, Antanaresian, and other allied forces. The Tarajanis often resorted to using aircraft to destroy the suits, which did prove effective. However, the deployment of a single suit could often change the course of a battle, allowing enough time for the Eurasian forces to regroup and route the Tarajanis even with the destruction of the suit itself.